Adding New Fish After Water Change.

[matty007]

Hi folks.

Im after a bit of advice please. Im going to do a 25% change tonight and was wondering how long the water should be left before adding more fish. My stock currently consists of 5 head and tail tetra and a dalmation molly.

I would like to add some bottom feeders soon, but want to make sure I don’t do them any harm by introducing them too soon after the water change.

Cheers in advance.

 

[minxfishy]

Just acclimatise them as you would normally, the water change wont make a difference to new fish, just make sure the tank is back up to temp before acclimatising them.

 

[matty007]

Thanks for the reply.

 

[tropic_john]

I would like to add some bottom feeders soon, but want to make sure I don’t do them any harm by introducing them too soon after the water change.
Cheers in advance.

Just for your info, common pleco's [hypostomus plecostomus'] can grow quite large. My mate had one about 12 inches long that used to make his substrate and gravel fly all over the place. But, if the pleco outgrew your tank, you could probably sell him on. a 12 inch pleco I've heard, once sold for £75!

 

[jonnyf84]

The new fish will probably prefer the changed water due to its lower nitrate content but keep in mind the water thats in the bag may be high in nitrates not to mention a different temp, hardness and PH, the best way to make sure everything goes off without a hitch is to place the bag in the tank and set up a drip from the tank to the bag, leave it for a hour at the least, always remember to net the fish instead of tipping all the bag water into your tank as it could contain diseases, also make sure the lights are off during this process and for a few hours afterwards in order to keep stress to a minimum.